


Picture Worth A Thousand Words

by Ithiel_Dragon



Series: Blessed Are The Peacemakers [1]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Chapter 3: Clemens Point (Red Dead Redemption 2), Digital Art, Drunk Sex, Heartbreak, M/M, Nude Drawings, One Night Stands, Pining, Slightly Altered Timeline, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 19:23:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16501268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithiel_Dragon/pseuds/Ithiel_Dragon
Summary: Arthur makes a new drawing in his journal and thinks about past regrets.Note: Now with Art!





	Picture Worth A Thousand Words

Arthur woke at dawn.  Most of the rest of the camp inhabitants were still asleep this early.  Except for Pearson, who always seemed to wake at first light to start getting food and coffee ready for the rest of the group. The man really was under appreciated for the work he did. 

Arthur yawned and stretched slowly as he climbed from his cot.  His muscles still felt a little stiff from lack of sleep and sore due to the hard ride from the day before.  Damn… he hated getting old. He rubbed at his eyes and stumbled towards the campfire, following the scent of fresh coffee.  He gave a half-hearted wave and nod of thanks to Pearson on the way and filled his cup with the dark brew. The bitter taste made him sigh with relief the moment it hit his tongue. Pushing him a little bit more towards wakefulness.

While he would have loved a few extra hours of slumber, he’d always been an early riser.  As far south as they were it was even more important to get going earlier in the day. Before the rising heat and humidity made any task completely unbearable.  As nice as this spot was was camping by the river, Arthur would be glad when they finally moved on.  Hopefully back out west where they really belonged.

For now, he made his way down to the riverbank, sipping slowly at his coffee.  It really was a beautiful spot, all things considered. The sun rising over the trees to the east painted a pretty picture through the mist off the water.  Fish, hungry after the long night, practically jumped out of the water trying to catch the multitude of insects buzzing about. Arthur grumbled as he slapped a biting fly away from his neck and sat down heavily on a log to enjoy his coffee and the scenery. 

His peace was interrupted by a louder splash a little ways away.  His first thought was that it had been a very large overeager fish, and that maybe he should grab his fishing pole.  He wasn't much of a fisherman, but a few nice bass for dinner would make everyone in the camp happy. However a small frown pulled at Arthur’s mouth when he turned his head and realized it wasn’t a fish that had made the noise. It was John Marston wading out into the river.

John hadn’t been in camp for a few days, off doing his own thing for Dutch.  He must have rode in just this morning from the looks of things and was currently naked as the day he was born, in the middle of washing off what looked like a weeks worth of dirt.  Seriously, had he been rolling in the mud with the pigs while he’d been gone? It didn’t seem like John had noticed him yet, or the man was simply ignoring him. Arthur decided to do the same and turned away to stare out over the river again. It wasn’t like Arthur hadn’t seen it all before.  When you lived out in the wild with a group of people, privacy was the first thing sacrificed.  Witnessing a few naked asses and cocks was inevitable.

It really was a pretty morning.  The light was just right, and the way it hit the rippling water, made it seem like the river was covered by twinkling diamonds.  Before he knew it, Arthur had set his coffee aside and was taking out his journal, intent on doing a quick sketch of the landscape.  Only the constant splashing sounds from the bathing man kept drawing Arthur’s attention in spite of himself. John was taking an awfully long time getting clean _._ Probably trying to avoid another lecture from Miss Grimshaw, Arthur thought with a soft chuckle.  He found himself studying John for a moment, and then his hand began to move across the paper as though it had a will of his own.  Arthur had drawn many of the others in the camp before but… never quite like this.

Plus he hadn’t drawn John since… well… before.

John hadn’t changed all that much since then.  He was a little older, as were they all, but he definitely weren’t any wiser.  He was still fit, with lean muscle, though. The shadows and light played nicely along his chest and thighs every time he moved.  He had a few extra scars. The newest set on his face, courtesy of the wolves that had tried to make a meal out of him on the mountain, made him seem a bit more rough around the edges.  A little more dangerous.  Which was fitting for their work, he supposed, but surprisingly hadn’t made John any less attractive. Arthur imagined John was still capable of pulling off those sad puppy dog eyes that even Dutch was weak to. How else could Marston have convinced Dutch to forgive him so easily after he’d left? 

Arthur, on the other hand, was still more than a little bitter about the whole thing.  

It had been an odd time. Jack had just been born, and to this day John denied the boy was his despite Abigail’s claims otherwise.  But Arthur hadn’t paid much attention to that developing drama though, because he’d been knee deep in his own. His on and off again relationship with Mary had finally come to and end when she'd announced she was getting married to another man.  Breaking his heart like no other before her. He and John had gone out drinking shortly after.  Both of them intent to drown their problems in hard liquor.  Arthur had always been a bad drunk.  Always tended to do something really stupid with too much liquor in his blood.  John wasn’t any better in that regard. At least he hadn’t been drunk enough to get thrown in jail that night…  just drunk enough to fuck his best friend.

Arthur sighed heavily at the memory.

Sometimes he wished he'd been drunk enough to completely forget about that night.  Unfortunately the memories were all too clear.  The memory of hands gripping his hips with a bruising strength, much larger and rougher than a woman’s.  The memory of rough stubble scratching against his cheeks, and harsh wet kisses.  Deep moans of pleasure filling the room as they groped at any bare skin they could get at. The memory of a heavy cock in his mouth and slick fingers up his ass.  The hard pounding that John had given him that had left Arthur incapable of sitting down without wincing for near a week after...

But the morning after, Arthur had woken up alone.  John hadn’t even left a damned note.  He'd just... left.  Just when Arthur had needed him the most.  Disappeared for a whole damned year...

Arthur shook his head and finally glanced up from his journal to find that John was long gone.  The drawing, at least, was pretty good.  One of the best he’d ever done in his opinion. John's likeness was near perfect, standing hip deep in the river, with water dripping from his damp hair down along his bare back.  The light hit him just right, from his cheekbones and the scars on his face to the curve of his ass, making him look almost ethereal.  Like some kind of broken angel sent by god. All the little details in the drawing easily pulled from memories that had been practically branded into Arthur’s mind...

With a soft curse, Arthur ripped the page out of his journal, crumpled it into a tight ball, and threw it into the water.  Dutch was always saying he needed to let it go… and he was right.  Even though he didn’t know the whole story. It was about time he let John go, for both their sakes. 

Arthur grabbed his cup, tossed out his now cold coffee, and walked back to camp. 

Arthur's Drawing... maybe...

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed the story, please consider leaving kudos. If you didn't, please consider letting me know why, so I can improve my writing overall. Thank you :)


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